New York Yankees

Ichiro was the star of game one. (Mike Stobe/Getty) The Yankees beat the Dodgers this afternoon in the first game of their doubleheader, but it didn’t come without a cost. Joe Girardi ran through arguably his four best relievers, with Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, and Adam Warren the only bullpeners not to appear in the game. Both David Robertson (14 pitches) and Mariano Rivera (ten pitches) told Andy McCullough they should be available tonight, but being available and Girardi being willing to use them are different matters entirely. Joe always seems to make sure he doesn’t overwork his relievers, especially his 43-year-old closer. We’ll see. Here’s the lineup he’s running out there against southpaw Chris Capuano: CF Brett Gardner SS Jayson Nix 2B Robinson Cano DH Vernon Wells RF Thomas Neal LF Ichiro Suzuki 3B David Adams 1B Lyle Overbay C Austin Romine And on the mound is hopefully the good version of right-hander Phil Hughes. He’s alternated very good with very bad starts his last four times out, and he’s coming off a stinker. As you saw this afternoon, the weather is flawless in New York today. Won’t be any rain issues tonight like there were last night. The second game of this doubleheader is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and can be seen on My9 locally and ESPN2 nationally. Enjoy. Post from: River Ave. Blues A New York Yankees blogGame 71: Back For More

It’s always good to take the first game of the doubleheader. It puts less pressure on you for game two, knowing you at least have one victory for the day. Well, the Yankees did just that, taking game one of the day/night doubleheader against the Dodgers 6-4 in Don Mattingly‘s return to the Bronx. (more…)

Ichiro Suzuki kept showing up in the picture in the 6-4 win over the Dodgers in Game 1. Three hits, a solo homer, three RBI, an outstanding catch. “He’s been playing extremely well for us,” Joe Girardi said after Suzuki lifted his average to .274, having gone 10 for 22 over his last four games. “He has the ability to get really, really hot.” Suzuki served a soft two-run single into left in the seventh, the decisive hit since it gave the Yankees a 6-2 lead. “He puts it in the perfect spot,” Lyle Overbay said. “It’s an art.” So is this the start of an extended hot streak for Suzuki? “I have no idea,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “Maybe you can ask a fortune teller or somebody in New York can tell you.” Hiroki Kuroda allowed two runs and eight hits over 6 2/3 to snap a three-game losing streak, doing it against his old team. He said through his interpreter that he enjoyed catching up with Clayton Kershaw yesterday. “Once the game started, I didn’t really focus too much on who I was facing,” Kuroda said. “I was trying … to contribute for the win.” The Yankees got their first look at what all the fuss is about, Yasiel Puig. The L.A. rookie got thrown out trying to stretch one single into a double, but did make it the next time he tried. Mariano Rivera got him looking to end the game. “He’s an aggressive player,” Girardi said. “He has tools.” Phil Hughes and Chris Capuano will be the pitching matchup in the second game. Girardi said before the first game that Zoilo Almonte would probably get to start in the night game, but Suzuki is starting in left and Thomas Neal is in right. Vernon Wells is the DH. He went 0 for 4 in the opener, leaving him in a 9-for-84 slide. “He’ll figure it out,” Girardi said. Photo by The Associated Press. The post Yankees postgame/pregame: Ichiro heating up appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.

Brett Gardner CF Jayson Nix SS Robinson Cano 2B Vernon Wells DH Thomas Neal RF Ichiro Suzuki LF David Adams 3B Lyle Overbay 1B Austin Romine C The pitching match up will be Phil Hughes against LHP Chris Capuano. See you at 7:05.

The Yankees have released their lineup for game two of the doubleheader against the Dodgers: Game 2 lineup: Gardner 8 nix 6 cano 4 wells dh Neal 9 ichiro 7 Adams 5 Overbay 3 Romine 2 Hughes 1 — Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 19, 2013 Jayson Nix is batting second again, even though his two-on no-out bunt shows that Girardi doesn't trust him enough to get a hit in that situation. If you can't trust your number two hitter in that situation he probably shouldn't be hitting so high up in the lineup. Vernon Wells, hitting .135/.143/.169 in the last month, is the clean up hitter and designated hitter, proving that Joe Girardi is actively trying to get his bat into the lineup. I understand that the Yankees lack an everyday outfielder to replace him, but he should not be in the heart of the lineup if he isn't going to hit at all. As much as Joe wants to pretend, he isn't slumping. Even though there are no alternatives, David Adams and Austin Romine are incredibly difficult to watch at the plate. Those two are hitting .197/.210/.311 and .097/.097/.097 over the last month. Another weird thing is that Zoilo Almonte, who had been called up yesterday, is not playing. Girardi said he would play in game two, yet here we are with the lineup and no Almonte. We're keeping Vernon Wells in the lineup, but a potential upgrade has to sit on the bench because, as a switch hitter, he might not hit lefties as well as he hits righties. He couldn't possibly hit lefties better than Wells already can't?

NEW YORK — Hiroki Kuroda shut down his former team into the seventh inning, Ichiro Suzuki homered and drove in three runs, and the New York Yankees spoiled Don Mattingly's return to the Bronx with a 6-4 victory over the sloppy Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. Read more Hiroki Kuroda news

Phil Hughes vs. Chris Capuano tonight. Line-ups to come. (I may be a little late posting them.) Never mind those summer winds: Let’s Go Yank-ees! [Featured Image by Liviu Burlea]

A Yankee-Dodger double-header. Who is going to kvetch more? Dodger fans have more reason to kvetch but this is New York, we’re home and nobody is going to out-kvetch us in the Bronx. Turns out the Dodger fans still have more reasons to moan after a critical throwing error helped the Yanks open the game up. It was a lead that even a two-run home run by Hanley Ramirez (who went 4-4) could not cure. David Robertson wobbled in the 8th but he did not fall down and Mariano Rivera gave us that patented peaceful, easy, feeling–peacefuleasyfeelingisapatentofmarianoriverandthenewyorkyankees–in the 9th retiring the side in order. Yasiel Puig made the final out, waving at two cutters moving away from him and then staring at one last cutter, also on the outside corner. It was painted black, son, and Puig was schooled by the Master. Nice day for Ichiro and another solid start from Hiroki as the Yanks win 6-4. Yanks look for the improbable sweep tonight. Improbable because winning both games of a double header never seems to happen to your team (it can happen to the Red Sox or even the Mets like it did yesterday), unlikely because Phil Hughes is pitching, and unfathomable because it’s hard to imagine us being out-kvetched in our house. [Photo Credit: Joel Zimmer]

Signs of life from the Yankee offense and some interesting defense on the part of Ronald Belisario helped the Yankees sustain a late-game rally by the Dodgers to take Game One of today's double header. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 6.2 strong innings, allowing only two runs on seven hits. He worked himself in to trouble in the fourth inning with runners on second and third with no one out, but snagged a liner and threw to third to get the runner and worked out of the jam unscathed. The Dodgers finally got on the board against Kuroda in the seventh inning via a sac fly and a pinch-hit single by former Yankee Jerry Hairston Jr. Preston Claiborne came on for the seventh inning, but managed to give up a two-run home run to Hanley Ramriez and record only one out before he was pulled for David Robertson, who couldn't throw a strike to save his life. Ten of Robertson's first eleven pitches missed the strike zone, but he worked out of further damage, stranding his two runners on base. Mariano Rivera came on for the save, struck out two, and that was that. Ichiro Suzuki had possibly his best game of the season so far with two singles and a home run, driving in half of the Yankees' runs. He also played exceptional defense in the outfield, once jumping to take extra bases away easily. Lyle Overbay doubled in the second inning to drive in the first runs of the afternoon, and Robinson Cano reached base four times – twice on errors, once on a single, and once on an intentional walk. With the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning, Vernon Wells struck out on a ball in the dirt to drop to 9 for his last 83 at-bats. Two innings later, reliever Belisario would help Wells atone for his previous failure by botching a popup that landed just in front of home plate that allowed Wells to reach base and then winging the ball into the outfield. Belisario was charged with two errors on the play, and then proceeded to hit Thomas Neal on the top of the shoulder in the following at-bat. It was ugly, and something you might have expected these Yankees to pull off instead of coming up on the benefitting side of things, but hey. Things got a little tense at the end, but the pitching managed to hang on to the lead the offense gave them. (h/t Marc Normandin) The Yankees and Dodgers will play again tonight at 7:05 pm with Phil Hughes facing Chris Capuano fresh off the Disabled List. Zoilo Almonte is expected to start the game for his major league debut.

When the dust finally settled, it was the Yankees who came out on top. New York spoiled Donnie Baseball's return to the Bronx, fending off Los Angeles, 6-4, in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader.